Beyond Just an Occupation

Chief Justice Nathan Coats presided over his first swearing-in ceremony as the head of Colorado’s judicial branch for hundreds of new attorneys. A total of 529 people can call themselves new lawyers in Colorado after passing the bar exam in July, and they took the oath Nov. 5 in Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver’s Performing Arts Complex.

In closing remarks before he led the new inductees in their oath, Coats urged them to think about the significance of its contents that go beyond its historical and ceremonial importance.

“[The oath] expresses the values that make us a profession, rather than merely an occupation.”

The group who passed July’s bar exam in Colorado represent a 70 percent pass rate, which includes already licensed attorneys getting admitted to the state bar. That represents a slight dip from July 2017, when 73 percent passed the exam.